U.S. Finds Offense in Beating Iceland, 4-1 : Soccer: Winners score more goals than they have had in an international game since August, 1988.

Sometimes it takes a while for things to sink in, for lessons to be fully understood. For Bob Gansler, coach of the U.S. soccer team that is bound for the World Cup in two months, Sunday’s 4-1 victory over Iceland was a sign that his young team is beginning to listen.

The U.S. team broke a goal-scoring slump in a big way Sunday, applying its lessons before a sparse crowd of 3,287 on a sunny and windy day at St. Louis Soccer Park.

“Against Hungary (last month) we backed off,” he said. “We’ve been preaching to our players, ‘We want you to get into an active mode, not a reactive mode.’ I felt we did that in a very reasonable manner today.”

Lack of offense has concerned U.S. coaches for some time, which makes Sunday’s outburst all the more welcome. The four goals were the most by a U.S. team in international competition since it scored five against Jamaica in August of 1988.

During World Cup qualifying, the U.S. managed only six goals in eight games, at one point going 239 minutes without scoring.

The team just returned from a two-game swing in Europe--losing both games--but, according to Gansler, it learned.

“We’ve been preaching progress,” Gansler said. “I think we made a big step at Budapest and another in the game against West Germany. What we’ve been talking about, preaching, this week, is consistency.”

How much credence Gansler will give his team’s performance Sunday may rest on his assessment of Iceland’s strength. Iceland is not the team it once was. It left 12 players at home, fulfilling commitments to European professional teams. The team here is young and feisty, but not cohesive or patient. Coach Bo Johansson made no excuses, but Sunday’s game was only the second time he has seen some of his players in action.

It showed at times. The U.S. established control immediately and relinquished it only in fleeting moments. According to the American players, that was the plan.

“We came out and set the tone in the first 20 minutes,” midfielder Tab Ramos said.

The tone was attack, attack, attack.

The first U.S. goal came from teamwork and persistance. Ramos started the play with a free kick from the left side. Bruce Murray’s header was retrieved by Eric Wynalda, whose wheeling left-footed kick over his head kept the ball alive. Steve Trittschuh headed the ball home in the 16th minute. It was only his second goal in full international competition.

The second goal came in the 30th minute. John Stollemyer threw into the penalty zone, where it was headed by Wynalda off the right post and into the net.

That goal exposed Iceland’s defensive weakness--allowing a throw-in to come into the area to an unmarked man.

Ramos assisted on the third U.S. goal, its final score of the first half. It was set up by a foul when Paul Caligiuri was pushed down from behind while bringing the ball into Iceland’s penalty area. Ramos took the free kick, which sliced in from the right side to Wynalda. He left-footed it in from five yards out in the 37th minute.

The United States had a 3-0 lead at the half and seemed to have the game in hand. Gansler said there were no surprises from Iceland.

“We got pretty much what we anticipated,” he said. “They are a strong team. They have a direct manner of playing. They go at you.”

That’s one way to put it. The game very nearly degenerated into a free-for-all--there were four cautions given and 46 fouls called. Iceland Coach Johansson apologized for his team’s chippy play.

“We are sorry the game became as it did,” he said. “We didn’t come here to play a dirty game. We were a little over-excited, over-enthusiastic. That is what we talked about at halftime, how we were angry and frustrated. Maybe the most frustrating part was that the U.S. played so very well.”

The second half was more of the same, although Iceland got more chances than in the first. On the game, the U.S. out-shot Iceland, 17-8.

The U.S. scored first in the second half on the prettiest goal of the game. John Harkes was dribbling the ball deep in the corner when he was picked up by Alexander Hognason of Iceland.

Harkes faked Hognason with a inside stepover move and then lobbed a crisp cross pass to Murray. Murray’s header in the 57th minute made it 4-0.

Trittschuh had a spectacular save minutes later, when goalkeeper Kasey Keller was lured out and Trittschuh saved the goal with a header on the line.

Iceland scored in the 85th minute on a penalty kick by Petur Petursson.